


The Ballad of Reggie Brink

by SB_Ryan



Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: Missions, Original Character(s)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-23
Updated: 2015-07-27
Packaged: 2018-02-05 21:57:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1833652
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SB_Ryan/pseuds/SB_Ryan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Runner 5 is not Sam's second Runner 5...this is the story of Reggie, the Runner 5 who started it all. Where did she fit into Sam's life, and who on earth is Arky?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Ghosts - Dawn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A key resident of Abel is missing, presumed dead. Not everyone's given up hope, though, and a crucial clue may finally have been unearthed.

3:33AM

A cold, very wet nose woke Reggie at dawn. It was essentially still nighttime, but the blasted collie that had been glued to Reggie's side since his master died, clearly thought it was past time to be up and chasing zoms.

"Fidget, please go away." The slight form under the patched blanket rolled over and burrowed back under the covers.

The black and white pup was not so easily dismissed and tugged at the blanket hard enough to tear another hole in the motheaten fabric. This was finally enough to wake Reggie, "Dammit dog, you know I can't sew worth a damn!" Completely unrepentant, Fidget launched himself into his human's arms and proceeded to shower the reluctantly awake Reggie with wet doggy kisses. "Okay! I'm up, I'm up; now give over!" Reggie couldn't help but laugh at her companion's antics, even though now she had to add 'new blanket' to the ever-increasing list of items to try and scavenge today. She stretched and winced as her shoulder clicked loudly; it had been almost a year since The Incident, and it was still giving her grief.

 _'Do not think about him. You are over Abel, you don't need them. You don't need Pandora. You definitely don't want New Canton or your uncle.' _Reggie lapsed into her own thoughts as she moved around the cramped space of the caravan, dressing in her customary loose yoga pants and long sleeved top. Covering up didn't really help; she could still feel the scars through the cheap material, but at least no one else could. As she reached for her backpack, the one momento from her time as part of Abel, a large shadow pressed against the cracked window pane. 

Fidget barked happily and bounded to the stable-style door, scratching at the wooden panels. Reggie grabbed two of the slightly-withered apples from a bowl on the shelf that served as a kitchen table and pushed open the door. The almost-purebred was through the gap like a bullet and disappeared. The young woman rolled her eyes before grabbing the shotgun by the door with her free hand. 

 

5 miles east – 9am

 

Runner 5 found Sam at the makeshift graveyard that the residents had put up for those who couldn't be laid to rest in the Forest of the Runners. As always, he was hunched in front of the crooked row of Runner 5 grave markers, orange hoody making him stand out against the tired brownish yellow grass.

The forlorn little slabs seemed to be both a comfort and a torment to Sam; but also sometimes they seemed to make the poor guy worse. Sam certainly never looked happier after spending time with his predecessors.

Zack (he had to keep reminding himself; sometimes it felt like he had been Runner 5 forever), knew that Sam took the loss of any runner personally; even if it wasn't his fault. Judging by the expression on his face; it was one of the girls that Sam had had a crush on since he got over Alice.

"Hey, Sam?" Zack worried about the tender-hearted wise-ass almost as much as he knew Sam fretted about his runners; especially _his_  newest Runner 5. "Um, i'm just about to head out with 3 on a run. Just wanted to let you know so you don't worry as your not on comms today."  _  
_

No reaction, not even a habitual smart ass comment or lame joke; the building blocks of their daily banter that drove Janine crazy.

"Uh guess I'll see you later then?"

Sam grunted in a non-committal way.  _'Ah, it must have been Jenna this time.'_ Zack sometimes envied Sam's ability to open up to others so quickly; of course, wearing your heart on your sleeve in the zombie apocalypse means it'll get eaten sooner or later.

Zack ran a hand through his spiky black hair and jogged back to the gate where the effervescent Runner 3 was waiting for him.

 


	2. Ghosts - Look after yourselves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You are greeted by Runner 3 and Amber, who says Eugene is due imminently with Janine's itinerary form. They voice their concern for Eugene just as he appears, but he insists he's just a little tired.

"Ah, morning 5. Back to slumming it on the search party eh?" Simon Laughlan, Runner 3, greeted the younger runner with a wave and a cheeky grin.

Zack, back to his taciturn self, the Runner persona, simply nodded as he settled his headset in place.

Amber, working on comms in place of Sam, chirped in with a greeting of her own, "We're just waiting on Eugene, then we'll be off."

Simon, ever the flirt, nudged Zack in the ribs, "Ooh, and what exciting adventures in 'not finding anything' do you have for us today, my dearest Amber?"

Clearly unimpressed, she replied somewhat sarcastically, "Oh...I'm not sure-"

Zack drowned them out as he stretched, they weren't discussing the mission and he hated idle chitchat.

"Runner 3, Runner 5 ready?" that was Eugene's voice. Poor guy had been working for the past fortnight on finding the missing group. Simon and Amber chirped in with affirmatives and the gates rolled open. Now this. This was 5's favourite moment.  
The snipers above took potshots at the lingering undead, clearing enough of a path for the two runners to get out and away from the handful of persistent zoms that always seemed to cling to the borders of any settlement. 

As the two men jogged away, Zach smiled, and felt vaguely guilty about enjoying his 'job'.

\---

Crabbe's Field - 10 am

Reggie flopped onto her back in the long grass of the overgrown meadow. She smiled up into the furry face of Fidget as he licked her ear. 

It had been a reasonably successful raid this morning. 3 crawlers, a shambler and no sprinters. Even better was the overstuffed backpack beside her, "Tell you what Fidget, as I found not one, but _two_ blankets in that cottage; you can have the one you keep tearing holes in all to yourself." Reggie gently pushed the pup off her when he wouldn't stop slobbering over her face. 

She sighed, a few months ago she would never have considered stealing two slightly less ratty blankets would be the highlight of her week. The DVD box set of Downton Abbey would definitely come in handy too. She knew of a couple of people who still wanted to catch up on TV even in the end times. 

Reggie rolled onto her side and ruffled her companion's coal-black fur, "So then, do you reckon I could teach you to fetch ammo Fidge?" The ex-dancer, turned ex-runner snorted derisively at the thought of the gangly pup herding cartons of shells across the field. Gods knew she needed more ammo sooner rather than later. 

Heavy footsteps shook the ground beneath the pair and Fidget sprung away, barking frantically. 

Reggie rolled and sprang to her feet in an easy motion, effortlessly unshouldering the shotgun that was slung against her side. When she saw what was galloping up the grassy slope toward her, she relaxed and holstered her weapon. It was just Horse. 

The imaginatively named cob had also belonged to Fidget's previous owner and she had found herself adopting the muscular stallion as well. 

She giggled when Horse shoved his broad nose under her arm, hungrily snuffling in her pockets. "Give over you great oaf!" 

Reggie pushed him back far enough to pull out the remaining apple and held it out for Horse. "You ready to visit the Big House for the puppy's play date?" 

Horse flicked an ear at the sound of her voice, but didn't look up from his treat still balanced on Reggie's hand. "Me neither, but I have deliveries to make if I want more ammunition for the girls," the 'girls' being her shortened 22 bore shotgun and a treasure of an antique sniper rifle. "Besides," Reggie paused and wiped her hand on the side on her trousers, "I still owe them for the General."

Horse tossed his head in annoyance  when a second apple was clearly not forthcoming. Nevertheless he stood still as the petite brunette pulled herself onto his back; just because she had traded his riding gear for food was no excuse for forgetting his training. 

"Come on boys, let's go for a nice run!" Reggie whistled for Fidget, dug her heels into Horse's flanks and let out a whoop as they shot away into the wilds. Free once more.  

Today was definitely going to be a good day.  


	3. Three Hostiles

Zack hadn't realised he'd settled back into his solo running stride until he heard his partner call out, "Hey, slow down there Five, it's a marathon not a sprint as my old Nan always used to say."

Amber joined in with the teasing, ribbing him about his 'special, important missions'. Five snorted and duly slowed down, even though it hadn't been all that long since he'd arrived at Abel since his ride had been blasted out of the sky by a rocket launcher, he'd genuinely been fond of the radio boyfriends and their endearing squabbles had kept him and Sam company on some of the longer runs he'd been on.

He adjusted his headset again and listened with half an ear to the arguing that Amber and Eugene had going on. He and Simon exchanged an eye roll until the word 'hostiles' caught their attention.

Zack selfishly wished that Sam was on comms today; ever since the youngster had guided him home to Abel through the night after a betrayal by New Canton; they had shared a closer bond and Zack trusted him implicitly.

Amber was great and all, but she was certainly no Sam Yao.

"Here they come Five, look sharp." Five nodded once, still impressed by the way that Simon could turn off his over the top joker's personality when needed.

Amber's tense voice broke in, directing them to higher ground to the south of their current position; looping away from the three incoming zombies.

"Belay that Simon!" Eugene snapped. "Return to the search pattern."

 _'Belay that? Did he just say that for real?'_ Zack tried to catch Simon's eye to see if there wasn't some nautical or pirate joke there somewhere. Eugene already had a missing leg; all he needed now was a pirate.

 Amber babbled in outrage until Eugene admitted the real reason for his desperate insistence on keeping them on track despite the danger. His voice was broken and sounded on the verge of tears, "Forget it." he paused, "They...they never brought him home. He's still...they never brought him home."

"Simon, Five; when you get to the top of that ridge, head east. That'll bring you back down to the riverbed in a few minutes. Now hurry; they're right behind you." Amber had clearly realised this was all about Jack. Their missing friend.

Zack grinned in exhilaration as he broke into a faster run; these moments were the ones he lived for - the rush of adrenaline as almost certain death was shambling after you; intent on ripping the flesh from your bones. He skidded a little on some loose gravel as the pair of runners from Abel started to head back into the dry riverbed.

"Hold your horses Five." Simon said as they started to slow down, "I think we've lost them."

They rounded a bend in the river and Simon started to narrate what they had come upon for the pair back home, "Man, Gene; this place is a mess."

Zack agreed; the 'mess' was a section of riverbed that had been close to a now collapsed footbridge. The mud had been thoroughly trampled and the sun was glinting off a  _lot_ of spent shell casings. Simon headed left, toward a large group of smooth boulders that would have once only peeked above the surface of the river.   
The taciturn runner scowled a little to himself; this was a perfect place for an ambush  - plenty of cover from the trees to either side of the steeply-sloping banks and not much in the way of cover or escape routes. As much as he was fond of the knuckle-headed ginger radio host; Five didn't hold out too much hope. It had been weeks since the party he was with had been overrun and Jack wasn't really known for his survival skills, nor was he a particularly outstanding athlete.

He didn't like to be too cynical; but a part of him knew that if Jack was still alive, he'd have made it back to Abel by now for sure.

Simon's voice carried easily to where Zack was watching for more hostiles; he almost didn't even need the feed from the headset to pick up every bloody word. He wondered sometimes how they hadn't lost far more runners than this by now. He jogged over and pointed to a heap of fabric that was lying at the foot of the rock formation.

Simon picked it up, "Here's 12's jacket." he tossed it to the taller runner Five, who shook the worst of the dust off, rolled it up and popped it into his pack. Simon raised an eyebrow but Zack only gave him a one-shouldered shrug - there was still a chance that someone back at the township would be able to make use of it, even if 12 no longer was. 

"Zoms must have come right out of those trees over there and just-"

"Simon!" Amber snapped at the thoughtless comments.

"Oh right. Sorry." Simon sounded abashed, "Hang on. There's a trail here, heading off over that way. Come on Five." He pointed to the next group of river rocks where the scuffed mud seemed to lead.

"Don't go rushing off." Amber sounded concerned, but the two men ignored her and started jogging to the next patch of rocky ground.

Eugene's voice came back, sounding more hopeful than it had earlier, "Follow that trail runners!"

The brunette, a few paces in front of Five replied in a fond tone of voice, "Already on it buddy." They were about to go past the first few boulders when Simon stopped, "Hang on Five, let me just..." he stopped talking as he scrambled carefully onto the rock formation. Not one of the runners wanted to risk an injury any more.

"What do you see Simon?" Eugene demanded.

Simon gingerly turned and hopped to the next rock along, "Looks like someone got cornered up here...muddy footprints and..." he paused in his attempt to scramble higher, his eye caught by something that didn't belong, "Wait there's something stuck between those rocks."

He crouched and rummaged in the dark crevice, tugging as something until it came free. "Got it! It's a shoe." Simon cried triumphantly before looking at it in confusion, "Uh what? It's a right shoe, but it's got left on-"

"It's his! Oh God, it's his." Eugene cried brokenly, Zack heard Amber in the background trying to comfort him. The Canadian carried on, "I wrote that. I was teasing him about his dancing and I..."

Five shut his eyes, unable to handle the raw sorrow in his friend's voice. Simon landed in the dried out mud next to him in a small puff of dust and handed the shoe to Zack without a word. Any runner who had spent much time with the stoic Five knew that if he could, he would always bring whatever he could of the other runner's belongings home.

Simon pointed to a trail in the dirt - one shoe, one bare foot. The uneven prints lead up the bank and into the woods at the top of the bank. Zack tucked the obnoxiously purple Converse style canvas shoe into his pack, noting the marker pen 'Left' and wishing he hadn't. Caring about folks in the aftermath of the end of the world only hurt.

As he stepped into the dappled shade of the forest, Zack heard the growly, groaning breathing of a zom and the creaking of rope under strain. He caught up with Simon and stared in disbelief. Suspended from the thickest branches of various oak trees were half a dozen upside down zombies. Shamblers by the look of it. Runner Three nudged him in the ribs and grinned his trademark goofy smile, "Watch your head Five. Looks like someone's decided to hang around."

Zack glared at him. That had been a terrible attempt at humour. Simon cocked his head, "No? Nothing?" he pouted and scooted around the nearest trapped zom, "Fine. Well you're a terrible audience Five." He tapped his headset and reported in to Amber and Eugene, "We got a hunter around here somewhere Abel. Lots of traps around these parts of the woods." He paused and surveyed the nearby woods, "They're pretty effective too by the looks of it. I'm counting 6 zombie pinatas," Simon looked over at Zack, who nodded in agreement, "Runner 5 concurs." 

"What about the trail Simon?" Eugene sounded as fed up with the commentary as Zack was. There was a time and a place for rubbish jokes and this was clearly not it.

"Hang about Eugene." Simon glanced over at Five's blank expression,"Oh come on, seriously? not even a smirk? fine!" He huffed and folded his arms; glaring at the leaf-strewn forest floor. "I'm losing the prints here Gene, the ground's too soft and there's too many other trails."

Zack heard Amber tapping her fingers on the desk before speaking; the part-time operator was clearly conflicted, "Fan out and search the undergrowth. Most people with only one shoe are gonna get rid of it as soon as they can."

Simon nodded in agreement before realising that they couldn't hear a nod and the camera network didn't extend this far. "Good idea. Spread it out Five, but be careful; you don't want to get caught in a trap." Runner 3 started to wade into the underbrush, head down and peering into the ground cover, "Watch your feet - slow and steady like me." Zack rolled his eyes at Simon's constant narration, the boy really couldn't keep quiet if his life depended on it. He jumped when Simon yelled in pain, "Ah! salt and pepper that hurt!"

"What is it?" Amber exclaimed. 

Simon was hopping on one leg, "Stubbed my bloody toe on this branch!" He stopped and reached into the dead leaves to exact vengeance on his wooden attacker "Oh." 

"What is it?" 

Zack turned and saw what was clutched in Simon's hand, "It's WG. Eugene, I'm-"

"What! Simon?" Eugene demanded; almost frantic. 

Zack and Simon exchanged a sad look, "It's a- it's just the handle. It's pretty badly broken Gene." The remains of the cricket bat Jack had kept with him since the outbreak were in worse shape than Simon had let on. Blood crusted the jagged splinters where the end had snapped. With the stains being so old; it was impossible to tell whether the blood was human or zombie. 

"I-right. Just leave it there Simon, keep searching." Eugene muttered, heartbroken. 

"Roger that Abel." Simon chirped. Zack simply held out his hand for the bat, even if he didn't know it yet; Eugene would need something of Jack's to help put his spirit to rest.

"There's a path here with no traps. Come on Five, let's see where we get to." 

Zack followed silently, feeling disappointed in the find. They walked further into the woods, both listening for any sign of life. 

The sylvan quiet was shattered by a deafening gunshot. The two men froze. 

Amber shrieked, "What was that? Runners report!"

Simon darted toward the sound, filling their handlers in as he ran, "Someone's shooting - come on Five!"

Amber growled in irritation, "Great idea Simon...run _toward_ the gunshot!" 

"Someone could be in trouble. Runners, go!" Eugene had said 'somebody', but as Five sprinted after Simon, he knew Eugene actually meant 'Jack'. 

He briefly lost sight of Simon as he ran into a thick clump of young trees, Zack quickly changed course as he heard Simon shout, "Five! this way!"

A second gunshot went off; much closer this time and Five ducked instinctively; almost tripping over Simon who was on the floor, swearing loudly, "Jesus!"

Standing in front of the supine Runner 3; was the source of the noise. A man, grey haired and weathered from years spent working outside, glared down at Simon. He broke the shotgun over his arm and snapped at the ex-fitness trainer, his accent distinctly not local, "Idiot! I could have had your hide there boy!"

Zack couldn't place the accent, he thought it might have been Welsh. 

Simon scrambled to his feet and glared right back at the stranger, "Bloody right! Jesus!"

The man, who was dressed in a worn, but still high quality Barbour jacket hissed right back, "Hush! You'll scare the birds."

"Runners are you okay? Report!" Eugene sounded anxious, but Simon was too angry to reply and Zack found himself mesmerised by the surreal conversation and didn't bother to answer. 

"Did I get you?" The hunter, and presumed setter of the zombie traps gave Simon a quick once over, before dismissing him to pet the retriever that bounded out of the bushes; a pheasant dangling from its mouth.

Simon, slightly hysterical, waved his arms around and yelled, "Get me?! No you bloody well didn't get me or I wouldn't be standing here would I!?"

The man, who Zack was struggling to pin an age to; he could have been anywhere from a weathered 30 to a well-preserved 50, simply stared at the flailing runner, "Oh it's just a little shot. Calm down."

"Runners what's going on?"

Fractionally calmer, Simon responded to the increasingly frantic Abel operators, "Fine Amber, it's fine; just some reject from Downton Abbey trying to fill me with hot lead that's all." He finished patting himself down, checking for bullet holes, "I wouldn't mind if he wasn't so rude!"

"Alright - well see if he knows anything about what happened." Eugene pleaded. 

"And be careful." Amber added, mindful that Sam Yao would have her head if anything unfortunate befell his favourite runner. 

The man raised one bushy grey eyebrow, "Oh, talking to base are you? Abel is it, or New Canton?"

Simon sneered, "Abel obviously."

Their shooter nodded sagely; almost as though he was expecting that answer, "Aye, aye. Thought as much." He stooped and took the bird from the dog, "Sounds like it's time to be heading in."

He replaced his flat cap on his head and turned to walk down the path leading further into the rapidly darkening woods, "Come on now, we'll put you up for the night at the house to be safe." The retriever nudged Zack's hand and bounded after his master who called back to them over his shoulder, "Away we go now."

Amber sighed and grudgingly agreed, "Better go with him runners; it doesn't look like it'll be safe to try and come home tonight."

\--- 

The man, who had introduced himself only as Powell, gave them some ground rules, "Alright not too far now." He pointed to a path worn into the long grass, marked at regular intervals with strips of bright yellow fabric, "Stick to the path there. We've plenty of traps for the dead in this part of the estate and I don't want to waste my time having to cut you down from a net because you went wandering off."

"How very considerate of you to warn us." Simon grumped, still pissed about his near miss earlier. 

Powell ignored the comment and spoke to Zack directly, "I see that bat you're carrying there. I take it you've been out to the site of that scuffle then?"

Eugene pounced on his comment and started chattering in their ears, "Simon is he talking about? Ask him if he saw anything back there!"

Simon dutifully put his irritation to one side, "That's where we were; one of our people went missing around there. We were hoping to find some sign of what happened to him."

Powell nodded, "That was a real mess. Zoms came right out of the trees right on top of 'em. Didn't have a second's warning...wasn't much they could do but run for it."

Zack winced as Eugene practically screamed at them through their headsets, "He saw it? What about Jack!? What happened to Jack!?"

"What about the guy they left behind?" Simon asked, almost dreading the answer.

"Oh he was tough alright; went swinging at them with the bat your friend is carrying. Took out 7 or 8 of the things. Drove 'em back into my traps so his friends could get away." Powell hesitated before finishing, "But then his bat broke of course."

"Oh God." 

Simon yelled at Powell in angry disbelief, "You just watched?! How could-"

"Watched it? I'm the one who saved him." Powell's voice was slightly incredulous. 

"What?!" 

Simon's voice was equally disbelieving, "Saved him?"

Powell nodded again, "Oh aye, he's back at the house. You'll see him in a minute." 

The two runners followed Powell in stunned silence for a few moments until they pushed through the hanging wisteria at the end of the marked path to one side. They gaped at the sight of a very large, very impressive stately home nestled into a dip of rolling green lawns. 

Their guide raised his arm and shouted to a figure reclining on the lawn at the front of the house, "Ho there; we've got visitors!"

The young woman who had been reading on the immaculate lawn in front of the sandstone manor house looked up and smiled. She rose gracefully to her feet. She was dressed in a blue silk blouse and crisp navy skirt. She clapped her hands, "Oh what a nice surpise! Jack, mama, come say hello." Her voice was crisp and cultured, carrying easily to the house and to the approaching party. 

Powell smiled at them, "There here he comes now, fit as a fiddle."

Jack Holden, one half of Radio Abel, came sauntering out of the house and up to the quartet on the lawn. A big grin on his face, he sketched an extravagant bow, "Ah, Runner Five I presume." 

Zack ruffled the dark red curls as he passed, Jack was such a dork. He handed him the remnants of WG as the young lady approached.

She smiled up at the newcomers and tucked one delicate hand through Zack's free arm, "Hello there, I'm Bella. It's a pleasure to meet you both."

Simon handed his headset over to Jack; Eugene was clearly desperate to speak to his miraculously unharmed boyfriend.  

Jack smiled in delight and slipped the earpiece into place, happily greeting his other half, "Alright Gene, long time no- ow stop stop stop okay. You thought what? They said."

The girl, Bella, tugged gently on Zack's arm, "Come on, let's leave them too it; sounds like there's some crossed wires there."

She gestured to Simon to come and join them as she herded them toward the open front door where another woman stood in the doorway, head held high. "Well come on inside and you can get some rest. Any friends of Jack are firends of ours. There'll be plenty of time for talking later."

She smiled up at him again, honey brown wisps of hair escaping from her elegant hairstyle he vaguely recognised from being forced to watch Pride and Prejudice by his sister. The setting sun lit her up like a halo and Five found himself speechless. 

 


	4. Nightmare Fuel

Reggie slumped down beside the small campfire she had decided to risk as the nights were still frosty. She'd rather risk attracting zoms than pneumonia. Fidget, exhausted from an afternoon of running across fields and hills, was sprawled out so close to the flames, Reggie was sure that his fur was smoking. Horse had also settled down after enjoying a nice long grooming session with the stiff-bristled curry comb Reggie had traded for at the last visit to the Big House.

If she'd pushed herself and Horse; Reggie knew she could have made it to the Birkmyre estate before midnight; but she was still feeling a little edgy and not ready to play nice with other human beings just yet. Reggie sighed and rolled herself up in one of her new blankets before trying to sleep.

High above the little camp site, the stars wheeled across the sky as the night wore on. Far below, Reggie whimpered in her sleep; deep in the grip of a nightmare. 

_Regina was trying her best not to panic. Her father had given her explicit instructions on what to do in situations like these._

_She stuffed another handful of underwear into her large duffel bag she used to carry her dancing equipment and zipped it up. Reggie swung the large bag from one hand; testing its weight - making sure that it wouldn't slow her down too much if she needed to make a break for safety. The house was completely still and silent and suddenly menacing in a way she hadn't expected her family home to ever be._

_Shaking off the feeling of being watched, Regina pulled her shortish mousy brown hair back into a no nonsense ponytail and crept down the stairs. She paused with her hand on the handle of the front door. How had it come to this? A few days ago the BBC had been telling them that the rumours of 'Grey Flu' were just that - rumours. Now though, people were rioting and getting sick._

_She hadn't managed to get hold of Daddy or Mother for the last two days and was beginning to worry. The mobile phone networks had crashed and didn't look like they would be restored any time soon. Her best friend, who was a paranoid nutcase at the best of times, believed that it was no accident. That 'the man' was trying to keep the outbreak quiet. That it was only a matter of time before the dead began to rise. Personally, Regina thought he played far too much Last of Us for his own good._

_The seventeen year old gripped the door handle firmly and stepped out into the street - she knew where to go; where Daddy would go if he couldn't find her at home._

_The buses had long since given up any pretence at running; no one wanted to risk being in a crowd and getting infected. Regina started to walk briskly toward town where Uncle Arky's offices were. Luckily for her, years of intense training in many different forms of dance had left her physically well prepared for long journeys on foot._

_An hour later, she was waving up at the security camera's lens at the main entrance of the laboratory her 'Uncle' worked at. She heard the tinny crackle of the intercom and her favourite surrogate uncle's voice shouting at one of his assistants to "Let the poor girl in!"_

_The tall, thin figure in Reception was a welcome sight and Regina rushed toward him, wrapping her arms around his middle and trying her hardest not to sob into his white lab coat. The man awkwardly patted her shoulder, clearly uncomfortable with the show of affection. "There, there Miss Brink. Come along and I'll get Sebastian to make us a nice pot of tea."_

_"Are my parents here yet?" Regina rubbed her eyes, trying to get rid of that horrible prickly feeling of threatening tears._

_The look of pity on the older man's face was almost too much to bear, "Not as yet my dear." He held out an elegant, long-fingered hand and guided the young woman upstairs to his personal laboratories, "But I do need your help until they arrive - just to keep your mind off things for now." he smiled at her and she nodded, free hand clutching the shoulder strap of her duffel bag tightly._

 

Fidget's ear twitched as his mistress's whimpers hung in the air of the camp. They were still quiet, not yet full cries and Fidget bellycrawled over to her, nuzzling into her side.

 

_Regina sat on the edge of Uncle Arky's desk, legs swinging back and forth as he gave poor Sebastian more chores to do. Tasks that seemed better suited to a housemaid than an intern._

_When the assistant had left them alone, he threw himself into his chair, which skidded across the tiled floor on its squeaky castors. Regina giggled, it wasn't often Uncle Arky let anyone see his playful side - she supposed the end of days was as good an excuse as any to let your hair down._

_"My dear; are you able to help me out with some important experiments whilst we wait for your parents to arrive?"_

_Regina nodded and jumped lightly down from his desk, "Sure. What do you need me to do?"_

_Arky pushed away from his desk; sending the chair rolling to the long window at the far end of his office. Regina followed and peered through the glass. On the other side was an impressive array of gym equipment, dominated by a huge treadmill and its array of attached monitors and machines she didn't recognise._

_"I need someone with better fitness than my assistants to do some exercises for me." He sighed, "My current staff are good for nothing more than carrying around iPads and squabbling over theories."_

_Regina laughed and agreed; she loved her uncle and would enjoy having something mindless to do before she drove herself mad from worrying about her missing family._

_Arky clapped his hands together, "Excellent! Let's not tarry any longer then - we'll start with an endurance test on the treadmill to set a control figure if you don't mind?"_

_The following days passed in a blur of activity; fortunately Regina loved to run. Every day she would ask if there had been any news of her parents, and every day came the same negative response. The fourth day after her arrival at her new 'home'; Regina sat sipping an energy drink her uncle had gotten for her from another department in the building._

_"My dear, do you remember the stories your great grandfather used to tell us?"_

_She thought for a moment, "Grumpy Stephen? I do remember some things I guess - it was a long time ago though!" Regina smile faded at the stern look on her uncle's face._

_"You don't remember the Blackthorn Estate? The stories about the undead?"_

_Regina shook her head slowly, suspicious of this sudden morbid turn of conversation._

_Arky pursed his lips thoughtfully and motioned to the treadmill, "Ready for phase 2 of our experiments my dear?"_

_Regina tossed the empty can into the metal bin beside the desk and slipped on her headphones. Before she could start her music, her uncle indicated that he would be monitoring her from behind the glass partition. The girl nodded and took up her usual position. The black ribbon of the treadmill's surface began to move and Regina stepped on and began to run. She breathed easily, allowing the music to take her away from this messed up situation._

_Behind her, unheard thanks to the loud music blasting from her MP3 player, a door on the far side of the makeshift gym slid open. A dishevelled figure flopped through and hit the floor hard. Dark brownish fluid spilled from the figure's lips and stained the tiles. It growled and dragged itself toward the slender figure jogging on the treadmill, oblivious to the approaching menace._

_'Hunger. Feed. Need feed. Hungry.' What had once been Sebastian Glover was far lost in madness. His head throbbed and his mouth was agonisingly dry. His throat clenched and instinctively pulled himself forward, broken legs dragging uselessly behind him. The girl would help. He had lusted after her in the time before the hunger. Wanted to touch. Now want to rip. To bite. To tear. To feel salty warmth of her as he devoured her. She would stop the pain._

_Regina lifted her head and sniffed; something smelled sickly sweet. Rank and unpleasant. She dismissed it as the treadmill's pace increased and she had to concentrate to match her speed and not fall off. Serve her right for not paying attention._

_She coughed as the smell wafted past her again and screamed as a cold hand closed around her ankle and pulled her sideways. Regina fell and landed hard on the metal, yelping as she felt her hip make bruising contact with the metal edge. Her head bounced off the tiles, making her ears ring._

_Regina screamed in horror again as the ruined face of her uncle's assistant dripped on her legs. Half of his face was missing and not a hint of humanity was left in his eyes. She kicked at him; but he only held onto her leg tighter; broken nails digging into her bare skin. He moaned and dragged himself closer before sinking his teeth into the soft flesh of her calf._

_The pain was agonising and she screamed again. The thing that was once Sebastian gurgled and bit down harder; Regina felt her head swimming and all she could see clearly was the Pandora Haze logo on his tattered lab coat._

_The pain abruptly stopped as the_ thing _was torn away and she heard thudding before there was a squelching sound and the terrible groans stopped._

_Warm arms came around her and Regina cried into Arky's shoulder._

_"Ssh my dear. I will take care of you my pet."_

_She didn't remember a lot after that. Just memories of searing pain and trying to walk again. Uncle kept her close. Talked about 'turning'; talked about genetic drift and natural immunity. She didn't understand it. She woke to see uncle watching her. He didn't let her go._

_One day she woke, feeling back to normal. Uncle was possessive. Kept her in her room. Something wasn't right. He only touched her to take her blood. She felt something was wrong. She needed to run. To get away._

_There! An open window. She climbed up; wobbly as a fawn on its first trip away from its mother. Fell. Fell into the alley._

_Run, Run, Run. As fast as you can._

_You can't catch me._

_I'm the gingerbread man._

 

Reggie woke with a scream and clutched her leg; feeling the scar through her ragged sock. It burned with the remembered pain and she didn't even push the hairy form of Fidget away when he shoved his wet nose under her arm and burrowed into the blanket. 

She trembled, relieved that it was just a memory and that she hadn't had to explain herself to Bella or Lady R. Reggie let her hair fall forward and cover her face as she cuddled the canine bed thief closer.

 

 


	5. Let the dogs come out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's the morning after Jack's miraculous discovery and the lady of the manor is putting the runners to work.

Zack barely stirred as he heard the door to the guest room open. He tried in vain to ignore the obnoxiously cheerful Jack and his efforts to get him out of the first soft bed he'd slept in for a long time.

"Oi Five wake up!"

Zack rolled over as the ginger pest ruffled his hair, "God you sleep like the dead. Well the non-walking dead at least. I can't believe you just zonked out as soon as you got here. Time to get up; we've got lots to talk about today!"

Knowing it was futile to resist, Zack reluctantly opened his eyes and gave serious thought to how to get away with murder in the apocalypse. Would anyone even notice?

Jack flopped onto the end of the bed after throwing Zack's t-shirt at him. As the runner stumbled around trying to get dressed, Jack kept talking, "You know. If these things fit better," he gestured to the headset almost lost in his wayward curls, "mine wouldn't have fallen out and I could have radioed you guys weeks ago instead of having my ear chewed off all night."

Jack grinned and chucked the runner's headset at him. "Anyway, speak of the devil; better put your ears on."

"I wouldn't have had to chew your ear off if Beatrix had radioed us like she promised. Now will you put 5 on you dolt." Gene grumbled.

Zack tapped the mic twice; his own personal habit of letting Sam know he was listening when it wasn't safe to talk.

"Oh there you are; morning." Eugene said, sounding much closer to normal in Zack's opinion. The Canadian carried on, "How's the signal Jack?"

Jack paused in his circuit around the bedroom room; tapping on the walls. "Pretty clear Gene. Did you want to bring 5 up to speed?"

Zack eyed the redhead curiously; he mouthed ' _Checking for secret passages.'_

"No no it's fine; why don't you." Eugene said.

Both began to talk at once.

"This is always so much easier when I can see your face you know." Eugene said wistfully.

"Tell me about it."

"Maybe later." Eugene practically purred.

Zack rolled his eyes at their blatant flirting. They were so adorkably awkward.

"Anyway, here's the deal-" he began.

A young female voice called up from the bottom of the stairs, "Mama wants your friend to come help too."

The raven-haired runner had to think for a moment to remember her name - Bella Ramsay - he must have been really tired last night.

"Sorry Gene." Jack apologised with a shrug.

"It's okay, I can fill Five in as we go."

"Right, off we trot."

Jack left the bedroom and Zack followed, yawning and trying to stretch the kinks out of his shoulders. It had been weird sleeping in a proper bed instead of his camp bed back at Abel.

"Oh and Jack...stay safe out there."

"Will do."

\---

"Of course Daddy swore it was a genuine Rubens for years." Bella laughed as she and Jack linked arms.

"You're kidding."

"No! He'd never listen to reason."

"Come on Five, let's leave these lovebirds to it." Lady Beatrix swept on ahead; majestic like a ship under full sail, not even entertaining the thought of not being obeyed.

"You've seen the pile; it's been in better shape, but then who hasn't eh?" The peeress pulled back the bolts on the impressive front door and strode out into the warm sunshine, "Still, it's a safe place and I'll be damned if I let anyone else take it over." She cast a piercing gaze at Jack; it almost seemed to Five that she was trying to glare through him all the way back to Abel. "No matter how much young Jack tries to convince us to leave."

"No matter if staying here means certain people believe certain other people are dead. For weeks." Eugene sniped in Zack's ear.

Lady Beatrix led the way down the ornamental lawns to where the woods had begun to edge their way in. As they walked, she pointed out items of interest; clearly proud of her home; from the top of her ash blonde chignon, to the soles of her eminently sensible wellington boots. "And we're self sufficient, thanks to the orchard and the herd."

Eugene, who was still listening in, spoke up, "Those cows are half the reason we're so keen to get these guys back to Abel. Well that and Bella's expertise."

"Yes the Ramsay's have been here for generations; apocalypse or no apocalypse. We'll be here for years to come."

"And that's the reason Jack hasn't been able to get them to leave. We can't work out why she's so adamant about staying." Zack frowned thoughtfully; this was starting to give him an unsettled feeling. Partly because of the whole cloak and dagger scenario; but also that he hadn't heard from Sam yet. He did worry about the young lad; especially as he didn't know if he was back to his usual relentlessly optimistic self yet.

Lady Beatrix slowed her stride to let Jack and her daughter catch up. "Here we are. Powell's up ahead." She pointed to an opening in the tree line which was marked with another of those fluttering strips of cloth that he'd seen yesterday in the forest of zombie piñatas.

"Keep your ears open Five; the sooner you figure what this is all about out, the sooner we can bring you all home."

Now that was something Runner Five couldn't agree more with.


End file.
